The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-01-12
NOT MUCH PROHIBITION.
Plenty of Liquor Sold in Maine Nowadays
14O Open Bars In Bangor.



Bangor Special to New York Sum-
The next session of the Maine Legislature will
begin in few days now, and the cold water peo-
pie are, as usual. specializing as to whether any
further temperance laws viii be enacted. 1t is
not likely that they will be gratiied, for the pro-
hibitOry idea is deader than ever, and nobody
seems anxious to resurrect the corpse. While the
majority of the people of the State are of course
in favor OF temperance, they also have TOD much
good sense to advocate spending the public money
I'm a useless attempt to enforce obnoxious stat
ute. From all reports, and the statements OF
General Dow and his friends 1t would
appear that there some people
who believe that Maine is considerable
of prohibition State, after ALL but the statistics
of the internal revenue Office tell quite different
story. From the records it appears that there are
in the State no fewer than $50 retail liquor deal
ers who pay United States Government tax OF
SIS each, and there are undoubtedly great many
who pay no tax at all, notably the keepers OF the
dives and club rooms which flourish along the
Kennebec, in Lewiston and in Portland, where
the advocates OF prohibition are most active, and
where they pretend TO hold the fort. There are
also six wholesale dealers who pay Government
tax of s1CO each; 1O1 malt dealers who pay $50
each: nine wholesale malt dealers, $50 each, and
three brewers. Ali these concerns assisted by the
the thirsty Down casters.
No attempt whatever is made TO enforce the law
in Bangor, nor do the people of any sect or party
appear want it enforced. Public opinion is,
in fact, decidedly opposed to any disturbance of
the present state OF affairs, which is quite salts
factory. Occasionally a complaint is made and
saloon-keeper fined for selling to a minor, but
that isall. To-day-so aman long in the business
states-there are in Bangor 40 open bars, not
counting hotels and various other city and
suburban resorts. The police require the saloon
keepers to preserve order in their establishments
and close at 10 o'clock p. m, and these regu-
lations are very generally complied with, al
though between the hotels aud other places one
can generally be accommodated with liquid re-
freshments at any time up to midnight And
VET, with all this freedom Of the liquor traffic,
the Police Court records show that there are not
nearly as many arrests for drunkenness in Ban
gor in proportion to population as there are in
Portland the home of General Dow and the
fayorite bunting-gIound of the Prohibtionists.
Let il not he supposed from this that drunken
ness is winked at in Bangor. for il is not. The
police force is efficient and the streets are always
orderly except when the woodsmen come down
| in the spring and start on a spree to break the
| thirst which they acquire by long period of en-
forced sobriety.
contrast TO that of eight or ten years ago, in the
days OF Sheriff Jerrard. a rampant Prohibitionist,
when strenuous exeItions were made to enforce
| the law, with the poorest kind of success. That
| period was perfect Bedlam in Bangor, being
characterized by street fights between the saloon
| keepers and their numerous retRiners and the
Sheriff and his deputies, the police often taking
hand in; by innumersbe prosecutions in court
| imprisonment for long periods of liquor dealers,
| and marvellous displays or strategy and cum
| ming TO eyade the officers The first difficulty OF
the liquor dealers was to get their supplies, COM
| ng from Boston, from the cars steamers or YES
sells bringing them to their stores in
safety, end then came the problem OF how
to efectually conceal the goods from the
prying eyes of the officers who searched
| anywhere and everywhere for them,
from hole in the ground to a bed-chamber. To
accomplish all this all sorts of devices were re-
sorted to- with success in about nine cases out OF
ten The LIQUOR would be taken from trains al
small stations just outside the city, and then con-
cealed in suburban barns until such time as
needed, when it was carted into town at dead o.
night. Confederates on the steamboats, used tc
dump the barrels overheard down the harbor
where boats lay in wait to pick them up, and cap
tains of sailing packets for consideration, would
anchor below and send up the long boat full o.
| whisky ana rum 10 the cOHslSutcs II hOuiu sahS
a big book to tell all OF the methods OF conceal
ment emf loyed after the stuff was once received
1t was buried half way to China; hidden between
false partitions and drawn thence through small
pipe running within a water-pipe; concealed IL
dusty attlcs and brought thence in kerosene cans
and, when the officers became too hot on thu
trail, nothing was kept In the bar-roOms at all
but bottles given TO little army Of runners,
who stood about the door and sold dTiEks iron
their pockets. One neat scheme was to have
little trap cut in the floor behind thu
! bar ON which was placed pitcher OF liquor
In the cellar beneath and reaching 70 the ceiling
was a cistern full of water. Patrons were serveC
regularly over the bar, and the instant the ap
proach of an officer was signaled by the shril
| whistle OF a heller stationed outside the bar
tender touched a spring with his foot ana pitcher
liquor and all went into the cistern. The Sheril
was often fooled at one door with barrel o
3 water while a barrel of whisky for shipment int
the country was being rolled out of another door
The hotel bars were kept in rooms, the location
of which constantly changing, was made know
to desirable customers at the Office. There wer
no mixed drinks then ana no ale on draught-
nothing but hard liquors aud bottled lager beef
All the stuff was OF poor quality, and those VII
we're rot caught very often made money las
But that is all changed nov. II was disgraceiu
/, | campaign for Bangor, costly one for Penobsco
}, County, and nobody wants to see 1t euacte
q sgain.
IT. mi. ali